Those Eyes
by kissmealways
Summary: This is take 2 because it got deleted last time. Zac and Vanessa like each other but they're too shy to say it. Set during the filming of HSM2. Since I wrote this before the movie came out there will be a couple of my own scenes. ENJOYYYYY and WOOTZAN!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

NowOn with the story!!!

Prologue

It was her chance, her chance to make new friends, to enjoy herself, and to hopefully become a stronger actress.

That is exactly what Vanessa Hudgens did on the set of High School Musical. Meeting her best friends Zac, Ashley, Monique, Corbin, and Lucas was the best thing that ever happened to her and even better, the film was a complete success.

As they went around the world promoting the movie, Vanessa couldnt help but notice the way Zac always seemed to be placed beside her in photoshoots or at press conferences, or the way he held her when they were posing for a photo. His hands were always so warm and she knew from experience that they fit perfectly in hers.

It was no surprise to the cast that during the movie, Gabriella and Troy werent the only ones crushing on each other. Vanessa and Zac spent every waking moment together and everyone was wondering why they wouldnt admit their feelings to one another.

The rest of the cast had been telling her to go for it but being her shy self, Vanessa didnt want to make the first move. Of course, Zac hadnt made a move either despite their obvious chemistry and everything faded away as Zac escaped the press to film Hairspray in Toronto.

They kept in touch but their conversations were short and general, just to check up on each other. The entire cast had bigger things happening for them but set aside time to make a High School Musical Sequel. Now, it was that time again. The 6 of them were off to Utah to carry on the phenomenon that brought them together and Vanessa hoped, bring her and Zac closer than they had ever been.

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**Aaaaaaaalrighty. Take 2 from a new account! I hope everyone likes it.**


	2. The Arrival

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

**Chapter 1 – The Arrival**

Vanessa, Ashley, Monique, Corbin and Lucas were lounging by the pool on a hot sunny day. They had gotten to Utah early to allow themselves to catch up before dance rehearsals and filming for HSM 2 started. Zac was the only one missing, still doing work on Hairspray; he was supposed to get in the next day.

"Guys, this is the life." Ashley said, relaxed in her beach chair.

"Tell me about it." Vanessa replied.

Lucas and Corbin were playing with a beach ball in the pool and Monique was sipping a smoothie.

"It's funny because you'd think we'd be going out to party after not seeing each other for so long," said Monique. "But all we can think to do is lounge by the pool."

"Well we're all so busy no one gets time to relax anymore, why not relax together!" Corbin said happily and Lucas laughed.

"Yeah, and it doesn't feel right to do anything fun without Zac," Ashley remarked.

The rest agreed.

"He'll be here tomorrow, we'll start partying then."

Vanessa smiled as Lucas said this; the thought of finally being able to see Zac gave her butterflies and made her giddy. But for now, all she could do was wait.

----

It was way past midnight as Zac entered the airport in Salt Lake City where HSM 2 was going to be filmed. He had caught the red eye flight right after all the Hairspray festivities were over and flew out as soon as he could to meet his friends. They weren't going to be starting work on the movie for another couple of days so there was plenty of time for them to have some fun. He really missed all his friends, especially Vanessa. Filming the first movie with her was a whirlwind experience. He had such strong feelings for her but could never see through to see what she was feeling.

Zac thought about the last time he had been to that very same airport, the day he left for Toronto. The cast had come to see him off and he had hugged them all individually but when he came to Vanessa, he couldn't see her face. She had kept it down and he knew it was because she was crying. The others started to walk away as he lifted her chin with his finger and looked into her eyes. They were sparkling and full of tears.

"Hey, I'm not going into space," he said, smiling to make her feel better. She gave him a tiny smile.

"I know I'm just going to miss you," she said softly and he nodded.

"You have no idea how much I'm going to miss you Nessa," he replied just as soft and pulled her to him for a hug. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around his neck and his fell around her waist. By now, the others had disappeared from sight and he closed his eyes, taking in the smell of Vanessa's hair. The vanilla scent of her shampoo was delicious.

After a few seconds, she pulled away from him, wiping her eyes. He gave her a kiss on the forehead, murmured a quiet 'I'll see you soon, I promise' and turned to walk to the terminal.

He remembered being on the plane and wishing he hadn't left her there but deep down, he knew that if he didn't he would have stayed with her forever. He deeply cared for Vanessa and he knew she deeply cared for him.

Snapping back into reality, Zac called a cab to take him to the hotel where he would be staying. The thought of all his friends being there excited him, even though it was really late. As the cab drove with him in the back seat, he thought of how much fun they were going to have filming the new High School Musical movie and how much closer it could bring him and Vanessa.

When they reached their destination, Zac paid the cab driver and, with his luggage, entered the familiar hotel. It looked the same as when he had last been there and he smiled, it was almost like home to him.

He got his room number and headed up to the room, 1221. He was happy to find it was a single room and he wouldn't have to share with anyone.

Zac dropped his luggage by the closet door and walked over to the bed. Not bothering to turn on a light because he was so tired, he took off his clothes until he was left with just his boxers and slipped into the left side of the king size bed. After a few minutes, he was asleep.

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**R&R!!**


	3. The Mystery Sleeper

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 2 – The Mystery Sleeper

The next morning at 8:00, Zac woke to find the light from the window streaming right into his eyes. He slowly started to open them and looked around. The room was a nice suite with a kitchen, table, and a nice sofa on the other side of the room. Turning his head to face the window, it was then that he noticed something else.

Vanessa.

On the other side of the bed, Vanessa's familiar form was sleeping peacefully. Zac felt very awkward as he watched her. Had he been so tired last night that he didn't notice he entered Vanessa's room instead of his own? He then realized that her small body in only a tank top and tiny shorts was shivering. He carefully put the covers over her and she relaxed a little. He smiled and walked to the other side of the bed to look at her, lightly moving her hair from in her face so as not to wake her.

It was incredible how gorgeous Vanessa could look when she was sleeping. He noticed how she hugged her pillow tightly and how her long hair fell perfectly around her face. Zac had an urge to kiss her but thought better of it and decided to get dressed instead. He put on his pants and shirt. Grabbing his luggage, he walked out of the room quietly and after closing the door, he checked the number. 1222. Zac had walked into the wrong room last night.

As he entered his own room, which was laid out the same as Vanessa's, he was confused as to how the key to his room could have worked for hers also. Oh well, it was his mistake and Vanessa hadn't noticed anything. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her with his presence. Luckily, it was still too early for anyone to know he had been sneaking from room to room anyway. He decided to fall asleep for a couple of more hours and lied down on the couch.

----

Vanessa awoke and checked the clock; it read 10:30 am. Turning over in the bed, she noticed a form as if that side had been slept in. Knowing she was a very motionless sleeper, she ruled out the option of it being her own body. Who could have slept in her bed? She was both confused and scared and decided to get out of the room quickly.

Throwing on a pair of pants and tiptoeing out of her room, she knocked on Ashley's door, which was to the right of hers. Ashley opened the door with her hair in a high ponytail and wearing oversized teddy bear pajamas. She studied the worried look on her friend's face.

"Hey Nessa, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Ash, someone slept in my bed with me last night." Vanessa said.

"What??"  
"I have no idea. I woke up this morning and I swear the other side of the bed was slept in."

Ashley started to laugh nervously.

"I guess it doesn't pay to be a heavy sleeper sometimes Nessa," she said.

"You got that right," Vanessa said.

"So who could the mystery sleeper be?" Ashley wondered.

_BANG!_

"OW!"

Ashley and Vanessa turned their heads when they heard a loud bang and a screech of pain coming from the room to the left of Vanessa's. They looked at each other once more before very slowly walking down the hall towards the room. Just as they were approaching the door, Zac flew out of the room rubbing his forehead.

"Zac?!" the girls said in unison.

"Hey." He said.

Vanessa laughed, happy to see him but unhappy to see a bump forming on his head. By now, a number of people had poked their heads outside their rooms to see what the commotion was about.

"Great, I woke up the entire floor, now I'm embarrassed." He said blushing.

Vanessa chuckled.

"What happened in there Zac?" she asked.

"Fell off the couch." he answered quietly.

They giggled and shoved him back into the room.

"Let's get you some ice," Ashley said.

She closed the door behind them and went to the freezer to get some ice as Zac took a seat on the bed and Vanessa sat herself beside him.

"Ouch that looks like a nasty bump," she said making a face.

"Nice to see you too," he said playfully.

She smiled at him.

"It's very good to see you; I just wish it would have been without agony." She said.

Ashley came over to them with the ice in a plastic bag and handed it to Vanessa who put it to Zac's head. He flinched a little because of the temperature but soon relaxed and looked at Vanessa who was now on her knees beside him inspecting his bump.

"It looks worse than it is." She said.

"Thanks, that's all I need to hear."

Ashley's cell phone started to vibrate from in the pocket of her pjs and she took it out, smiling as she read the caller id.

"It's my mom!" she said happily, "I'll see you guys later!"

And she floated out the door back to her room leaving Vanessa and Zac alone. He reached up and put his hand over hers. He could feel her shiver at his touch and she came down to look at him.

"I can hold the ice," he said.

"Oh, right."

She slipped her hand out from beneath his and fell back to lie down on the gigantic pillow. He lied down beside her.

"I think your bed might be more comfy than mine," she said and then remembered the mystery sleeper.

"Speaking of beds," she started. "I think someone slept in my bed last night with me while I was sleeping, creepy huh?"

Zac looked uncomfortable.

"Very creepy," he said looking away.

"But me being the heavy sleeper that I am, I didn't notice."

"I doubt someone actually slept in your bed Nessa," Zac replied.

"I donno, maybe you're right. Anyway, what time did you get in?"

"Around 2."

"I'm happy to see you," she said

He looked at her to see her smiling back at him.

"I'm happy to see you too," he said back.

Zac put the ice on the table and opened his arms to her. She slid into them and wrapped her arms around his waist as they lied there together on the bed. Her hair smelled the same as the day he left and it made Zac glad to know that some things never changed. He let out a sigh of happiness as she smiled against his chest.

Their hug was interrupted by the ringing of the hotel phone.

"Hello?" Zac asked into the receiver.

"ZAC!" said Corbin's loud voice.

"Hey man," Zac replied.

"We heard you got in late last night so we let you sleep a bit, but now it's time to get moving! Me and Lucas are in the games room waiting to kick your ass at DDR." Said Corbin.

Zac laughed into the phone.

"I'll be there dude, give me 10 minutes."

As Zac closed the phone he looked at Vanessa who was inspecting her fingernails.

"That was Corbin," he said. "He wants me to go down to the games room, him and Lucas are there."

Vanessa smiled at him and got up off the bed.

"Okay well I should go get ready anyways, me and Ash will probably do something with Monique today and we'll meet up with you boys later."

She walked over to the door and he followed her. After stepping through the open door she looked back at him leaning on the frame.

"Welcome home," she said giving him a warm smile.

"It's good to be back," he replied and watched her walk into the next room.

Vanessa walked into her room and over to the bed, looking at the dented pillow and ruffled sheets. Maybe Zac was right, maybe she was just being paranoid but it was still a pretty creepy thought. She took one more step towards the bed to touch it and realized she had stepped on something. A pair of socks were on the ground beside the nightstand and they were definitely not Vanessa's. She told herself that they were just random socks that had been left behind from the last person who had been in the room. She took them and put them in the nightstand drawer before going to get ready for the days ahead until their work began.

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**R&R!!**


	4. Let's Dance!

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 3 – Let's Dance!

The girls walked into the games room after a day of shopping around Salt Lake City. They found Lucas with a gun in hand shooting zombies that were coming at him on the screen and Corbin and Zac in an intense game of air hockey.

"Ooh 6-5, I'm going to win and your ass will be kicked my friend!" Corbin exclaimed.

"In your dreams, man!" Zac retorted sending the disc right through Corbin's paddle-shield.

"HA!"

"Aw man."

"6-6! Prepare to meet your doom!"

The two battled it out, neither able to achieve the last point. They were so into it that they didn't notice their other 4 cast mates had formed a circle around the air hockey table and were cheering them on. Zac looked up and caught Vanessa's eye. She was smirking in such a way that it was all he needed to get him going; he fired the disc across the table and into the slot. The game stopped, Zac had won. He threw his hands up in the air.

"Game, set, match!" he said smiling and Ashley and Monique let out a sigh of disappointment.

"Nice one Efron, but I'll get you next time," Corbin said playfully.

"Looking forward to it buddy," Zac replied shaking his hand.

"Alright, alright, you've played your games but now it's time to go get ready. We're going for a night on the town!" Ashley said directing Lucas out of the games room as Monique and Vanessa did the same for Corbin and Zac.

"Meet us downstairs in half an hour and don't be late," Monique said heading into her room.

"Yeah, she tells _us_ not to be late," said Lucas who opened the door to his room beside Corbin's.

"Pfft…"

"See you guys soon," Ashley said disappearing into her own room, which left Zac and Vanessa out in the hall.

Vanessa stopped in front of her door.

"Well this is me," she said. Why did it always feel like her and Zac were on a date of some kind?

He walked over to his room and opened the door.

"See you in thirty," he said smiling and she heard the door close behind him.

Vanessa melted a little at his smile, it was always so warm and inviting when directed at her. Walking into her room, she collapsed on her bed remembering the feel of lying with Zac just next door. He could always make her feel safe.

----

Zac had been watching Vanessa ever since he won that game of air hockey. He knew it was because of her eyes on him that he had the momentum to beat Corbin but noticing the jump in her step walking back to their rooms made him smile. He loved to see Vanessa happy but tried to keep a straight face not wanting to give anything away.

After throwing on a pair of jeans he laid his shirt on the bed, leaving it to the last minute to put on, and decided to start unpacking his suitcase. He carried a couple of shirts on hangers across to the closet and opened the door. It was then that he saw Vanessa, headphones on in her room dancing in her underwear. The jeans and tank top she planned to wear that night were on the bed as well as the shoes that lay on the floor underneath. That was definitely not the closet door he just opened.

Immediately, Zac started to laugh while all the while checking out Vanessa. She looked so into it, silently singing along to the music and swaying her hips. After a couple of minutes she noticed him, looking up and yelping as she threw down her iPod. She then fell onto the bed and covered herself with the covers as Zac laughed.

"I thought this was the closet I swear!" he said throwing his hands up in the air still holding his shirts and laughing hysterically.

She looked at him for a minute like she didn't believe him but then started laughing as well.

"You're such a perv," she said jokingly "you just wanted to see me in my underwear and make fun of me."

"Well you caught my attention that's for sure," he said with a wink. She blushed.

"Just go already so I can get ready!" she said. Her cheeks were bright red.

"Okay, okay, see you downstairs." he said as he closed the door. He could feel her lock it from the other side and smirked. He had to admit he didn't feel at all stupid for thinking that the connecting door had been the closet. Seeing Vanessa dancing in her underwear was cute and definitely sexy, but he did feel somewhat bad for embarrassing her. Buttoning up his blue dress shirt, he left his room to go downstairs.

Vanessa was totally embarrassed that Zac had seen her dancing around her room practically half naked. Yeah she did have a shirt on but no one but her sisters witnessed in her underwear. At least she was wearing cute ones. She heard him leave his room and waited until the sound of his footsteps had died away to finish getting ready. Her cheeks were still pink as she thought of seeing him without his shirt. He was so perfectly fit, it was unbelievable. How was she supposed to look at Zac normally if she couldn't even get over what just happened? Vanessa took a deep breath and told herself over and over that it was no big deal. When she was finally ready, she headed for the lobby.

----

The cast drove to a dinner/dance restaurant called 'Dance with me' (totally made up). All were ready for a night of good company. They sat at a round table not far from the dance floor where couples were already starting to dance to the slow music. After ordering and eating their dinners the dance floor had opened up to a more fun scene and Lucas stood up, asking for a partner. Vanessa looked at Zac who was laughing with Ashley before standing up to join Lucas for a dance. They found a spot on the floor and began to move to the salsa music that was playing. Vanessa smiled as Lucas twirled her and realized that he was a great dancer. They continued to salsa when Vanessa noticed the entire cast looking at them. She smiled and gave them a wave as they clapped for her and Lucas to keep going. The song came to an end, leaving both Lucas and Vanessa laughing hysterically. He gave her a little bow.

"Thanks for the dance Nessa," he said. "That was a lot of fun."

She gave him a small hug while nodding and they went back to the table.

"Come on guys," Vanessa said to the 4 of them left at the table. "It's great up there!"

She grabbed Ashley's hand who grabbed Monique's and the girls made a train onto the dance floor where the band played a Frank Sinatra song. In a circle holding hands, the three girls moved in and out of the circle gracefully moving their hips to the music.

"They're good," Corbin said smirking to the other boys.

They all danced for another 4 songs before the band made an announcement.

"Alright everyone, let's slow this one down for the last song before 9 o'clock rolls around. Then you know what time it is, that's right, Party Club Saturday right downstairs in the freestyle club. DJ Rockafeller will be playing up the hits all night long."

There was a cheer from the crowd as the band started to play L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole.

Vanessa sat at the table and watched as Ashley headed off to the dance floor with Lucas and Zac handed Monique off to Corbin. Smiling, he saw her and walked over to the table holding out his hand when he reached her.

"Dance with me?" he asked sweetly.

She smiled.

"Of course," she said taking his hand.

They reached the dance floor and Zac put his hand on her waist, gently pulling her a bit closer to him. Her hand rested on his shoulder as she clutched his free hand with the other.

"I like this song," she said looking up at him. It caught him off guard because he was too worried about making his steps perfect.

"Yeah, me too," he replied.

Looking into Vanessa's eyes, Zac didn't want to be anywhere else. He tuned out everyone else in the room, just moving with her. He felt her hand had slid further around his neck and her fingers were lightly playing with his hair. His arm slid around her waist and pulled her closer to him, all the while not letting either of their eyes move from one another.

_L is for the way you look at me._

_O is for the only one I see._

_V is very, very extraordinary._

_E is even more than anyone that you adore._

_And Love is all that I can give to you._

_Love is more than just a game for two._

_Two in love can make it,_

_Take my heart and please don't break it._

_Love was made for me and you…_

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**R&R!!**


	5. They Hit It Off, Now It's Party Time!

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 4 – They Hit It Off, Now It's Party Time!

Vanessa was lucky she actually wanted to be around Zac because if she didn't it would be extremely hard to be on set with him 24/7. They had started filming a couple of days ago and Vanessa hadn't had a moment without Zac, not that she minded.

Over the last couple of days they had filmed most of the major dance numbers in the movie and now they were on to the softer side. It was now the part where Gabriella wanted to break up with Troy because she thought Troy liked Sharpay.

Vanessa stood on the bridge where Kenny, their director, had placed her for this scene and rested her crossed arms on it.

"And, ACTION!" Kenny yelled from behind the camera.

-note: I'm going to write this as it is going on in the movie just because it's easier to write 'Gabriella' instead of 'Vanessa as Gabriella' lol. Also, I know 'I Gotta Go My Own Way' is supposed to be in the movie at this part but it won't be in the story.

"I can't believe Troy would do this to me," Gabriella said quietly to herself as she clutched the 'T' necklace Troy had given her in her hand.

A tear fell down her cheek as she continued to stare at the water that lay under the bridge and didn't notice Troy come up and stand beside her making sure to get too close to her.

"Hey," he breathed looking at her frowning face staring at the water.

She didn't answer and didn't look up.

he pleaded, inching closer to her.

She shook her head silently but didn't move.

"Listen, Chad told me what you saw and believe me, it's not what you think."

"Oh then what is it?" she said hurt and turning to look at him.

Troy saw the tears in her eyes and immediately felt terrible. He never wanted to hurt Gabriella for agreeing to sing in the talent show with Sharpay but he had no choice, she was forcing him. He walked closer to her and brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"You know it means nothing," he said.

"But Troy, you spend every waking minute with her. I thought this summer was supposed to be about us too,"

"It is about us, you know you mean the world to me Gabriella."

Her mouth formed a small smile.

"Really?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied. "You're my girlfriend not Sharpay, and you know you're the only one I would ever want to sing with."

"Then why are you doing this talent show with her?"

"She's not giving me a choice; she's getting her parents in on it too. They're our bosses Gabriella."

Gabriella realized where Troy was coming from. If he didn't obey Sharpay's parents he could lose his job and so could the rest of them.

"I understand," she said softly. "I'm sorry for getting upset."

"Don't be, you had every right to." Troy said, relieved she understood the truth of the matter. He opened his arms and pulled Gabriella into a tight hug, holding onto her waist. At first, she loosely put her arms around his neck but as she thought about the conversation they just had and how much he admitted he cared for her, she kissed his cheek and smiled while tightening her grip. He picked her up and swung her around affectionately.

"CUT!" Kenny yelled from off-screen.

Zac put Vanessa down from their hug and she smiled.

"Good job," she said.

"You too," he replied.

"Alright that's a wrap for tonight, see you guys tomorrow around 4pm, we're getting a late start tomorrow." Kenny said to them and they nodded.

Vanessa crossed her arms as they walked to the car that would take them back to their hotel and Zac handed her the sweater he had been wearing. She murmured a soft 'thank you' as he opened the door to the car for her and she slipped in to the passenger's seat. By the time Zac had gone around the car and sat in the driver's seat next to her, he wasn't surprised to find her asleep. Most nights after filming Vanessa would sleep as he drove them back to the hotel. Sometimes she would offer to drive while they were walking to the car but he always waved it off and insisted that he drive.

When they got to the hotel, he woke Vanessa up and he put his arm around her shoulders and she put hers around his waist as they walked into the elevator. Once the doors had closed she turned to him and smiled.

"Thank you for always being so nice," she said thankfully.

He had let go of her and she was standing beside him.

"You're welcome," he said.

The door opened and she grabbed hold of his arm while they walked down the hall to their rooms. He passed his room, stopping in front of hers.

"You didn't have to walk a whole 3 extra steps to drop me off Zaccy," she said chuckling. He smiled at her as she found her key and put it into the door.

"Oh but I did," he said.

She opened the door.

"Come on in," she said and he followed her without hesitation.

She collapsed on the bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes and he smiled at her, suddenly wondering why he had come into her room.

"Alright good I got you home in one piece," he said and walked to the connecting door to go to his own room. Vanessa sat up from the bed and looked at him.

"Going to bed?" she asked.

"Yeah why, did you need something?"

Pause. Vanessa didn't want him to go; she wanted him to stay with her.

"Um…no it's okay, goodnight. And thanks again for driving and stuff."

"No problem Nessa."

The connecting door closed behind him and Vanessa went over, putting one hand on the knob and the other on the door. She did not know it, but Zac was doing the same thing on the other side of the door. She wanted to open it and ask him to stay with her but she didn't and walked over to the bathroom. After washing up, brushing her teeth, and getting changed, she got into her bed and fell asleep.

Zac had put on a pair of flannel pajama pants and gotten ready for bed but that seemed hours ago. He couldn't fall asleep, he was thinking of Vanessa. Recently he had started to wonder if it was the right move going to Toronto for Hairspray. He knew it was amazing for his career but had the feeling that it had had jeopardized his possible relationship with her and regretted not keeping in touch more. Zac's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of one of a door closing in the hallway. Turning over, he closed his eyes and started to drift off with thoughts of Vanessa on his mind.

----

It was 11am when Vanessa awoke to a knock at her door. Thinking it was just one of her castmates, she walked over in her pjs and looked through the peephole. Her mouth dropped when she saw who it was and she opened it excitedly.

"Hey V," he said to her in that deep voice she remembered.

"Scott!!" she squealed and hugged him tightly.

"Come in, come in!" she said happily.

They walked into her room and sat on the couch together.

"So what are you doing here??" she asked. "And how did you know I was here??"

"Well I went to your house and your mom told me so I thought I would come to see you." He said.

Vanessa smiled at Scott. While she was back at home before High School Musical 2 she had met him at Starbucks. He had dropped his coffee all over her by accident and insisted he take her out to make up for it. Ever since then they had been hanging out a lot. Vanessa liked Scott but could never feel as intensely as she did for Zac.

"Well, it's nice to see you," she said. Having Scott there was almost like being home again.

"You have to meet all my castmates, they'll love you."

"Sure."

"Okay I'll be right back, I'm going to get changed."

Vanessa walked into the bathroom after picking out some close to wear that day. She walked out 15 minutes later ready to go.

"I have to be at the set by 3:30 this afternoon but until then, I'm all yours." She said smiling.

"I was hoping you'd say that," he replied.

They walked downstairs to the lobby where Vanessa could see a car waiting for them. They arrived there in their carriage laughing after a day of shopping around Utah.

"That is so funny!" Vanessa giggled. "So what did she do?"

"She threw a pie at him and a food fight broke out!"

"No way!!"

They both laughed hysterically as they approached the cast.

"Hey guys, this is Scott. He's one of my really good friends from back home. Scott I want you to meet Ashley, Corbin, Monique, Lucas, Olesya, Chris, Ryne, and…wait a minute, where's Zac?"

The cast all gave a warm hello to Scott and Corbin told Vanessa he hadn't seen Zac yet. The rest of the cast gave a nod to say they hadn't either.

"So all you guys are main characters in the movie?" asked Scott.

"Well, the 3 of us definitely have a bigger role than in the last movie," said Olesya smiling while she pointed to herself, Chris, and Ryne. "But the rest of them are the major people."

"That's cool, I'm excited to watch you guys on set."

Monique could see Ashley giving her a look as if to say, 'what's up with the guy?' and she knew what it meant.

"Hey Scott, how about I give you a tour of the set while Vanessa gets her butt to hair and makeup." Monique offered.

"Cool, thanks. It's been nice to meet all of you." He said smiling and he and Monique walked off together.

"What was that???" Ashley asked Vanessa as soon as they were out of sight.

"What do you mean?"

"Nessa come on, a guy? I thought you…"

"Ash he's just my friend!"

Vanessa pulled Ashley away from the others.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Ash, I'm positive. We've been friends since like forever."

"Alright well I'm just making sure you're not being a chicken and going back on your feelings for Zac."

"If I still had feelings for Zac then I would agree with you but since I know he doesn't feel anything like that for me, it doesn't really matter."

"That's what you think." Ashley mumbled to herself and told Vanessa she was going to head over to her trailer. She walked away, leaving Vanessa by herself.

----

Zac got up around 1:30 that afternoon. From not having slept so well the night before, he groaned when he saw the time. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept in that late.

Knowing he had to start filming at 4 he decided to get ready to leave for set. After taking a shower and getting dressed, Zac was ready to go. He knocked on the door to Vanessa's room to see if she needed a drive to set but there was no answer. Slowly opening the door, he saw there was no one in the room and realized she must have left already. Just then, his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Zaccy!"

For a minute he didn't even know who it was.

"Hey Kristen! What's going on?"

Kristen was an old friend of Zac's back home. He hadn't seen her in forever though they talked on the phone regularly.

"Well I was thinking, since you're so lonely over there in Utah that I might come see you and keep you company for a couple of days." Kristen said. Zac could tell by her tone that she was smiling and it made him smile in return even though she couldn't see it.

"Sounds like fun," he replied.

"Well good because I'm already here, come meet me in the lobby!" she exclaimed and shut the phone.

Zac smiled bigger to himself and hurried down to the lobby where he found Kristen at the concierge desk. He slowly walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. She grasped onto his arms and smiled, leaning back into his hug.

"Nice to see you too," she said.

The man at the desk gave Kristen a key and she took it happily before turning around to face Zac.

"Hello you," she said.

"Hello yourself, what are you doing here?"

"Came to see you, of course."

"Yeah but…why?"

"Well I just finished doing a musical of my own in LA and needed some time with an old friend. Plus I missed you. Plus Kenny asked me to be an extra!" She said.

"Hey, I'm not old!" he said.

She lightly slapped his arm, it wasn't the response she was going for.

"Silly Zac. So are you going to the set today?"

"Actually I was just going to head over when you called."

"Mind if I come with?"

"Not at all."

They decided to head up to Kristen's room to put all her bags inside before going to the set. When they got there, Zac headed right into hair and makeup taking Kristen with him. She pulled out her video camera as soon as he sat in the chair.

"Look who it is!" she said as she filmed.

"Hi camera?" Zac said shyly from the hair chair.

"Come on! It's a behind the scenes video, so introduce yourself to the camera," she giggled.

"Uh, okay. Hey, I'm Zac Efron and you're watching behind the scenes of High School Musical 2. Um, I'm just here in the hair and makeup trailer with the lovely Kristen."

She turned the camera to herself and gave a wave.

"And as you can see I'm getting my hair done. Lots to do today because I pretty much just woke up an hour ago and didn't do anything to my hair."

"And how do we achieve this 'Troy look'?"

"Good question Kristen, we've got lots of styling hair cream stuff…"

She giggled because he didn't know what the product was.

"No gel because then it won't make the hair look soft and Troy's hair is always soft," Zac said winking.

"And what about makeup?"

"Well Troy doesn't get too much makeup because he's a guy, obviously. He doesn't look feminine, he's a jock!"

Kristen turned the camera back to herself.

"Well that's all for now, we'll catch up with Zac later."

She shut off the camera and put it down just as Zac got up out of the makeup chair.

"Let's go!" he said.

He and Kristen walked towards where they were filming for the day and he spotted Vanessa walking ahead texting on her sidekick.

"V!" he called out and she turned around.

"Hey!" she said happily and stopped so he could catch up to her.

"Ness this is Kristen, she's one of my family friends," he said and Vanessa smiled.

Kristen was gorgeous, she was just a bit shorter than Zac with long blonde hair and bright green eyes. She was dressed casual, in a tank top and shorts but she looked like a star. Vanessa noticed she was carrying a camera and guessed she had been filming something with Zac.

"Nice to meet you," Vanessa said and then remembered her own friend.

"It's cool we both have friends visiting. My friend Scott is here too, he showed up this morning but he's only here for the day. Monique's giving him a tour around set," she was still smiling.

Vanessa could see Zac was not smiling at her comment as she got a message on her sidekick to report to set for a scene with Zac. The three of them walked over and they left Kristen behind the camera as they took their places. In this scene Troy and Gabriella finally have a moment together alone after their demanding jobs have kept them apart.

note: this scene is TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY made up. It is my version of the picnic scene)

Troy walked over to the bridge and stood waiting for Gabriella. They had planned to meet there in the brief talk they had that morning and looking at his watch, Troy realized he was 5 minutes early. A couple of minutes later he heard a loud, "Troy!!" from in the distance and spun around to see Gabriella happily running towards him. She ran into his arms, out of breath and hugged him tightly. Troy closed his eyes. It felt so good to have Gabriella in his arms and know she was his.

"Hi," she said and kissed his cheek.

"Hi, I finally get to see you for more than a minute," he said laughing.

"I know, it's been crazy around here lately."

"I miss you."

"I miss you too Troy."

They gazed at each other dreamily.

"I have a surprise for us," he said.

He took her hand and led her into the green grass where he had a blanket and picnic basket for them to eat.

"Oh Troy, this is so nice!"

"Anything for you, Gabriella."

"So what's to eat?"

"Well, I have, my personal favourite, some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I made them myself by the way, Zeke had nothing to do with it. I also have some sparkling apple juice, and ice cream sandwiches for later."

"Seems like you thought of everything Mr. Bolton."

He loved the way she smiled at him, she was so beautiful. Troy pulled out their sandwiches and poured her some apple juice. They talked and laughed as they ate, letting each other know how much they missed seeing each other. After they were done, it was time to get back to work. Both were dreading the moment they would have to part. They cleaned up their stuff and put the blanket and empty cups back into the picnic basket.

"Well, I'll see you soon," Gabriella said hopefully.

"Yeah, I'll come drown in the pool sometime soon," Troy joked.

"Don't even talk like that Troy, drowning is a serious thing!"

They both laughed. Looking into each other's eyes, Troy set down the picnic basket he had been holding and brought Gabriella closer to him. He leaned down to her just as the sprinklers turned on, soaking them.

"TROY!!!!"

"GABRIELLA!!!"

"AHH LET'S GET OUT OF HERE TROY!"

And they ran off screen.

"CUT! Beautiful!"

Completely drenched Vanessa and Zac laughed hysterically at the scene.

"I had no idea those sprinklers were going to go on guys, I'm so sorry!" Kenny said to them laughing.

Zac and Vanessa were laughing so hard that both were unable to stand for themselves, holding each other for balance.

"Maybe the set doesn't want Troy and Gabriella to kiss," Vanessa commented as she caught her breath.

"I definitely loved the scene though, good job of just going with it!" Kenny said.

Kristen ran up to Zac and put a hand on his shoulder. She had her camera pointing at him and Vanessa.

"I got it all on tape!" she said excitedly. "That was hilarious!"

Vanessa felt a pang of anger and immediately stopped laughing. Seeing Kristen there, so giddy to watch them (or she expected) Zac get wet wasn't at all amusing to her.

"Okay well, that was fun I'm going to go back into hair and makeup." Vanessa said fake smiling and walked away, deciding Kristen was a moment ruiner.

On her way back to her trailer to change before going to hair and makeup, she caught up with Monique and Scott.

"Hey guys!" she said. "How was the tour?"

"Great Nessa, it's really cool you get to be here everyday," Scott said in awe. It made Vanessa chuckle because he was such an ordinary guy. She was so used to the celebrity life now that she didn't really think much of being on set.

"Go for a dip in the pool…in your clothes?" Monique asked confused.

"Actually me and Zac were just doing a scene and the sprinklers turned on randomly, we got soaked!" she said laughing. "So I'm going to change and then get back into hair and makeup."

"Okay cool, I still have to introduce Scott to Kenny so we're going to head over there," Monique said smiling at both her and Scott.

"Alright, tell Zac to get his butt changed so we can film and get out of here!" Vanessa called to them as they walked away. Monique raised a thumbs-up in the air to say she understood.

----

"Is she okay?" Kristen asked as she and Zac watched Vanessa leave the set.

"She should be," Zac replied. "Something must be up, I'm sure she'll tell me later."

"Kristen Callaway? You told me you weren't getting in until tomorrow!" Kenny said as he approached Kristen.

"Oh hey Kenny, yeah I flew in early. Thanks again for letting me be an extra in the movie, I had to be part of it somehow."

"No problem! It's a pleasure to have you here!"

Monique approached them with Scott.

"Scott, this is Kenny Ortega our director. Kenny, this is Scott. He's Vanessa's friend visiting from California."

"Nice to meet you," Scott said shaking Kenny's hand.

"Same here," Kenny replied. "Have you ever thought about being an actor?"

Monique laughed at how forward Kenny was being as Scott nervously shook his head no.

"I think you'd be great and we could use you as an extra. Kristen could tell you all about it, she was an extra in the last film."

Kenny motioned to Kristen who locked eyes with Scott and shyly smiled.

"Hi," she said meekly.

"Hey."

"And this is Zac who, you probably already know, plays Troy in the movie," Monique said but Scott's eyes didn't leave Kristen.

"Hey man," Zac said.

"Scott?"

"Uh, yeah, hi. Yeah, I can be an extra." He said.

"Great!" Kenny said happily. He took Kristen and Scott aside to debrief them on what they would be needed for that day.

"Oh Zac, Vanessa says to get your butt changed and over to hair and makeup. The more we film today the earlier we can go home and relax," she said.

"Gotcha."

He went back to his trailer, changed, and headed over to hair and makeup. He opened the door to find Vanessa sitting in the chair getting her hair curled.

"Finally!" she said smirking. "Took you long enough."

"Yeah well I stayed around so Kristen could talk to Kenny. She's going to be an extra in the movie," he said smiling.

Great now he gets to spend all the time he wants with her. Vanessa thought.

"That's cool," she said trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible.

"Yeah and I met your friend Scott. He seems pretty cool, him and Kristen hit it off pretty nicely," Zac laughed and sat in the seat next to her.

Vanessa's eyes went wide and she started to laugh with him.

"What do you mean they hit it off nicely?"

"Well let's just say it was only after he saw Kristen that he accepted Kenny's offer to be an extra."

Vanessa laughed.

"What a goof," she said. "So you can tell he likes her?"

"Oh man it's so obvious. She definitely likes him too."

Vanessa sighed with relief. She felt better knowing that Scott was going after Kristen and Zac seemed to be happy with it. Zac was happy to report the news because it meant Scott wasn't a threat to his possible relationship with Vanessa.

They both got their hair done and went back to filming. After being on set until around 10pm the entire cast piled into the bus and headed back to their hotel. Kristen and Scott received their own rooms down the hall from the rest of them and they planned to have a welcome party in Monique/Olesya/Kristen's room since the next day was their day off. It was almost like a giant apartment with a living room and kitchen that separated into 4 bedrooms. Up until now Monique, and Olesya had stayed there because they requested to be together and they had two extra rooms open. They gladly gave one to Kristen.

The cast bustled into the room and started to eat, drink (non alcoholic beverages of course), and socialize amongst themselves.

"Okay, who wants to play a game?" Ashley said

The entire cast shouted out their 'Me!'s' and Ashley told everyone to get in a circle on the floor. Once everyone had sat, she moved into the middle to explain the game.

"Alright this game is called the alphabet game," she started. "We go around in a circle and the person before you says something on your body beginning with that letter. You have to kiss whatever they say."

Everyone erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Hey! Listen! You only have to kiss once and you guys can't come up with anything super dirty. No boobs, no penises, no vaginas, and no variations of any of these words. If you can't think of an appropriate body part then pass."

They were all now hysterically laughing.

"What?? I had to say it so everyone would know!" Ashley said with her hands in the air.  
The cast nodded, understanding the instructions and Ashley volunteered to start the game. Lucas, who sat to her left picked abdomen and everyone laughed as he lifted up his shirt and she quickly pecked his abs. She blushed as sat up, then it was her turn. She quickly said "back!" turning around. Chris gave her a kiss over top of her shirt since he didn't want to lift it.

They went around the circle,  
Corbin kissed Chris's collar  
Monique kissed Corbin's elbow (couldn't think of d lol)  
Olesya kissed Monique's finger  
Ryne kissed Olesya's hip  
Scott kissed Ryne's knee  
Kristen kissed Scott's leg  
Vanessa kissed Kristen's neck  
And then it was Zac's turn...

They were on letter O and he couldn't think of anything. He asked for some help but no one could think of anything up until S where Zac came up with shoulder.  
Vanessa smiled seductively as she pulled down one side of her shirt little enough to reveal just her shoulder. Everyone else watched not believing Zac would do it. He slid close to her and gently put his lips to her shoulder, proving all of them wrong. Vanessa felt a shiver run through her whole body the moment his lips touched her skin. His lips felt so soft and when he pulled away, she wished he had stayed there just a little bit longer.

They played the game well into the morning and it was 4:30am when they decided to finally go to sleep. Vanessa made her way to the empty bedroom where she found Zac and Corbin fighting for the bed.

"Alright I can settle this," she said. "I'll sleep between you guys so you won't feel all gay about it."

Zac raised his eyebrows at what she said but at the same time knew that they were all too tired to worry about who they were sleeping next to.

"That sounds like fun Nessa but I'll pass," Corbin winked. "I'm sure I can cozy up with Monique somewhere."

Vanessa tried to talk but before she knew it, she was left in the room alone with Zac who had already slipped into the king size bed.

"Hey, I have no problem if you want to leave me this entire bed to myself," he joked.

"It's okay I'm cool," she said and slipped in beside him. She lied down and turned the other way so her back faced him.

After a couple of minutes in silence, he spoke.

"Nessa?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Ever feel so tired but you just can't sleep?"  
"All the time."  
She turned over to look at him and could see his outline in the dark. He could see her shivering.

"Cold?"

She nodded silently.

"Come here," he said opening his arms and she slid into them, burying her head in his chest and smelling his scent.

"You're warm."

He laughed.

"Thank you."

She giggled.

"Goodnight Zac."  
"Goodnight Nessa."

------------------------------------------------------

**R&R!!**


	6. Baby Come Back To Me

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 5 – Baby Come Back To Me

It was the cast's week off and everyone was flying home to be with their family. Everyone except Vanessa. Since her mom, dad and sister Stella had been there just a few days before for a visit, they said it would be okay if she stayed and did her own thing for the week. She went with them to the airport, offering to give them a drive since she didn't have anything better to do.

Being at the airport and saying goodbye to everyone, especially Zac was tough. It felt like the day when he left for Toronto, this time without tears because she knew he would be back. She gave everyone hugs, even Kristen who was ready to go home with Scott to meet his parents. After she hugged Zac, they all headed to the gate.

When she got back to the hotel, Vanessa decided to watch a movie. She knew this would be the perfect time to watch the one she had in mind because no one was with her. She grabbed Cinderella from the bottom of her DVD pile and once she had set it up, hit play. Ever since she heard the Cheetah Girl's remake of 'So This Is Love' Vanessa had the urge to watch Cinderella but she never let anyone know for fear of being made fun of. She never had much time to sit and watch movies anyway.

Watching Cinderella live happily ever after with her prince made Vanessa wonder if she would ever have the same happiness in her life. It was plain to see that although Zac flirted with her a lot that they wouldn't be more than friends. If Zac wanted that kind of relationship, Vanessa was convinced he would have already gone for it. She felt like she was putting herself out there for him, hell she even fell asleep with him, and still he didn't take advantage of it.

Vanessa searched around her room for a pen and notepad, thinking it would be easier to get her thoughts down on paper. She only found the first of the two and contemplated writing on a napkin before she decided to go into Zac's empty room to find some paper. He wasn't there anyway, no harm done right?

When she walked into Zac's room Vanessa found clothes strewn everywhere. She laughed out loud at the way he just left his room for the week. Picking up the ones that led to his desk, she folded them neatly and put them in a pile to search for the correct drawer to put them in. She opened the drawer closest to her and blushed when she found the drawer half filled with colourful boxers. She concluded he must have taken the rest with him.

After she had put the clothes away, she continued to the desk by the window where a notepad sat. She made sure that nothing was in it before she took it back to her room with her, not bothering to close the connecting door and making a mental note to clean the rest of the room sometime that week.

Vanessa sad down and opened the notepad to the first page. After staring at it for a couple of minutes, she started writing down furiously what was in her head.

_You are fine  
You are sweet  
But I'm still a bit naive with my heart  
When you're close I don't breathe  
I can't find the words to speak  
I feel sparks  
But I don't want to be into you  
If you're not looking for true love  
No I don't wanna start seeing you  
If I can't be your only one_

_So tell me when it's not alright  
When it's not OK  
Will you try to make me feel better?  
Will you say alright?  
Will you say OK?  
Will you stick with me through whatever?  
Or run away  
Say OK._

The words flowed almost like they could be lyrics in a song and Vanessa tried to come up with a melody to sing them. When she looked at the clock she saw it read 12:30 and decided to give up singing. She left the open notepad on the table and went to bed.

----

Zac loved being able to see his family after working so much but every time he had a spare minute to himself he thought of Vanessa. He knew she was the only one left back in Utah and couldn't help but wonder if she was lonely. He had tried calling her a bunch of times over the last couple of days but her phone would respond with the same 'Hey, it's Vanessa. I'm not here but you know what to do.' Maybe she was having fun or maybe she was spending the week keeping to herself.

"Dude, are you daydreaming again?" Zac's brother Dylan said waving a hand in front of Zac's face. They were sitting on a beach in the California sand.

"I was just thinking about something I left back in Utah," he replied.

"You mean like coughvanessacough"

"Shut up Dyl!"

"Not until you admit you miss her."

"You're an idiot you know that?"

"I may be, but not bigger than you. You can't even admit you've got feelings for the girl!"

Zac had nothing to say to his comment because Dylan was absolutely right.

"So what's wrong if I do?" he asked his brother.

"The only thing that's wrong is that you haven't told her!"

"Oh and what am I supposed to say, huh Mr. I'm-so-good-with-the-ladies?"

"The truth."

Zac stared at the waves crashing on the beach. It was a bit embarrassing that he was asking advice from his little brother but he knew Dylan was honestly trying to help. It dawned on him that Dylan was right; he should tell Vanessa the truth. The only problem was that every time he saw her he would melt and totally put his feelings aside.

"I think you should go back," Dylan said, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?"

"Go back to Utah. She's the only one there, she's probably lonely. She needs you."

"You're just trying to get rid of me," Zac joked.

"I'm serious Zac, it's been great having you visit but I'm sure mom and dad will understand if you go back to Utah early."

Zac knew by looking at Dylan's face that even behind sunglasses, Dylan was completely serious. All he could think to do was nod.

----

Vanessa ordered in that Wednesday night. After looking at the dark and gloomy weather outside her window, she decided it would be best just in case a storm started. It had been three days since everyone left for home and Vanessa spent it writing on the notepad she found in Zac's room, swimming, exercising and missing her friends. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this normal, it was weird not having to wake up and go to set. She found herself bored and lonely at the simple life she had been leading since Sunday afternoon.

Vanessa thought of her friends. All had called her when they got home and she felt a little guilty that Zac's was the only call she'd missed. He had left her a couple of messages to say he had gotten home, that his family was doing well, and that he hoped she was having a relaxing week. She missed him more than anyone.

After eating her dinner and writing some more stuff, Vanessa decided to go to bed. She had been having some late nights lately because of her writing so for once she was going to turn in early. As she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and changed into her pajamas, it started to rain outside. Soon it was storming. Why did it have to storm when she was alone for the week? Usually when there was a thunderstorm Vanessa would knock on Ashley's door and spend the night in her room. Ashley knew she was terrified of being alone during a storm. This time she was going to have to be.

Vanessa reached up to the table beside her bed searching for her iPod but it wasn't there. She let out a huge sigh when she remembered she left it in Zac's room after she had folded the rest of his clothes. Slowly she got up and walked through the open door into Zac's room. She loved how it smelled like him even when he was gone, it reminded her of how much she missed him.

Vanessa sat on the bed and reached for her iPod which was in the middle of the bed. She put the earphones on as she lied down and started to listen to the soundtrack from High School Musical.

While Start of Something New played Vanessa thought of Zac. It made her calm to hear his voice mixed with hers like they were there together at that moment, like they shared something in common. That song always made her feel so incredibly comfortable around Zac and oddly enough it was the same for Gabriella and Troy. The song ended just as another loud thunder came from outside. Vanessa let out a whimper, wishing she could have someone with her.

It was then that she noticed a blue teddy bear underneath the covers with just its head sticking out. She smiled, remembering when Zac won the bear from one of those claw machines. She had clapped for him and he bowed, then offered the bear to her. She shook her head giggling but agreed to make it a keepsake for him by taking a permanent marker and drawing a heart on the bear's right shoulder as if it were a tattoo. Looking at the bear now, she could still see the special heart she had drawn but something was different. Inside the heart there was a letter V that had never been there when she drew the heart. Just the thought that Zac may have written this letter for her made her full of happiness, but she was interrupted by yet again another thunder.

Throwing back the covers on the bed, Vanessa slipped inside with her iPod and the bear. As she lied down, it felt like the night at the party where she and Zac fell asleep holding each other. She could smell him even though he wasn't there and she was finally able to tune out the noise of the storm as she drifted off to sleep.

----

Zac took his brother's advice and booked a flight that afternoon to Utah. His parents were just as understanding as Dylan said they would be and he was extremely grateful to them.

He arrived at the hotel at around 10 the next morning, where he proceeded up to his room and opened the door. The first thing he noticed was that the room was much cleaner than when he left it. There were no clothes on the floor and everything had been neatly put away. The next thing he noticed was Vanessa asleep in the bed.

_Not this again _Zac thought as he walked to the door to check the room number. It was his room and the connecting door to Vanessa's was open. She had fallen asleep in his bed.

As Zac approached her sleeping figure, he could see she had earphones on, but her iPod had run out of batteries. She was also clutching his blue teddy bear tightly in her arms. He smiled at the sight of her with the teddy bear and the heart on its arm sticking out of the covers. Anyone would have found it a tiny bit odd that there was someone else in their bed but the smile on Vanessa's face left Zac feeling comforted by the fact that for some reason she chose his bed over her own. Was it possibly because she missed him as much as he missed her?

Zac walked through the door to Vanessa's room, wondering what prevented her from sleeping there. Instead, he found a notebook that he could have sworn was his on the desk. As he opened it he realized it was his, glancing at the small Z in the corner of the inside cover. The first page read 'Say Okay' and while he read it came to him that Vanessa had been writing songs. He could imagine her hand on the pen scribbling down the words and crossing out the ones she thought didn't fit. The final product was, in his opinion, incredibly honest.

Putting the notebook down, Zac took one last glance around the room. It didn't seem that there was anything wrong with it. He started back towards his room where Vanessa was sleeping. She was still in the same position as when he left which made him smile. He wanted to wake her but didn't want to scare her in the process.

Zac made his way to the bed and sat on it beside where she was curled up and clutching the teddy. He wanted nothing more than to slip into the bed next to her and hold her tight but he knew that would only scare her more.

Gently, Zac leaned over and pressed his lips to her forehead. She stirred a little and rolled onto her back, rubbing her eyes.

"Good morning sunshine," he said softly and smiled down at her.

Vanessa knew his voice anywhere, Zac. She slowly opened her eyes to look at him. He was smiling over her and locking her into his gaze. It was amazing how much bluer Zac's eyes looked in the sunlight. He let out a soft laugh and allowed her to sit up in the bed. Looking around, it was only then that she remembered she was not in her room.

"This is your room," she said. "I'm in your bed."

"It looks that way," he smirked.

"But, you're supposed to be gone."

"I know."

"But you're here."

"I know."

"Why are you here?"

"I came back."

Those three words were all Vanessa needed to her. The way he said them let her know that he came back to Utah for her. It was good to have someone back to keep her company, but it was even better that that someone was Zac. She smiled brightly and flung her arms around his neck causing him to fall backwards and land on the other side of the bed with her on top of him.

"Whoa, missed me that much huh?" He said looking up at her.

Vanessa blushed but didn't move and he didn't seem to mind. Their eyes' locking again was all she needed to make her feel the butterflies. She hadn't noticed that Zac's arms had made themselves comfortable on her waist and were now slipping around it, pulling her closer to him. They were inches apart when she spoke.

"I'm glad you're back." She could barely breathe the words. Once he heard them, it was as if Zac had snapped back into reality and he gently released his grip and she slipped off him.

"Sorry about that," she said shyly. "And sorry about sleeping in your room."

Zac laughed. Of course he didn't mind that the one girl his eyes were set on was sleeping in his bed.

"It's okay Nessa, I just want to know how you got there."

She was relieved to know he didn't feel weird about it.

"Well you know how much I hate thunderstorms."

He nodded.

"There was this huge one last night and usually I'd go and have a sleepover with Ash but she wasn't here and your room was connected to mine so…I dunno…I guess it just made me feel…safe."

Zac smiled. He made her feel safe. _He_ made _her_ feel safe. It was the most perfect answer anyone could ask for.

"I'm glad my bed could help." He smiled sitting next to her.

Silence fell upon them as they gazed at each other.

"Umm…so…what are your plans for today?"

Vanessa laughed a bit.

"Actually I was planning to just hang around and do my laundry today," she said.

"Fun."

"Hey, so what I'm a tad boring?"

"No, not boring at all because I will be keeping you company."

"Oh will you now?"

"Yes I will. There are a lot of dangerous products involved with laundry; I wouldn't want you to get injured." He smiled at her and then blushed as he continued.

"Plus I was hoping you could teach me a thing or two about it, I'm lost when it comes to that stuff."

"Aww, does your mommy do your laundry for you?"

"As a matter of fact she does."

"Well same here unless I'm away from home…like now."

Zac blushed again as he looked at her.

"So will you teach me?"

"Sure," she smiled. "Let's go."

Zac and Vanessa made their way down the hall into the laundry room. Since the floor was reserved for the HSM cast they didn't have to worry about anyone being there and it was even better that everyone had left for their vacation.

"Alright so, here's how you start."

She propped her basket of clothes on top of the washing machine and separated the others she had onto the floor. Zac watched her intently as she grabbed a light blue shirt and held it up to him.

"Okay so this is a medium because it's light blue, so it goes in the medium basket. These," she held up a pair of black track pants "go in the basket for darks because their black."

"And the whites go in another one."

"Exactly!"

"Alright but why do you have 4 baskets if there's only whites, mediums and darks?"

Vanessa smiled and looked to the floor as her face flushed a light shade of pink.

"Oh…umm…I use the last one for delicates…"

"Delicates?"

She nodded and pulled out a lacy blue bra from the basket. Holding it up in front of him, she blushed.

"See…delicates…but I'm sure you don't have any of those…"

She knew her face must be cherry red by now and set the bra back in the basket. Zac watched her as she did, not taking his eyes off the lingerie. _Vanessa wears that?_ he thought and found himself smiling at the thought of her looking so sexy. He then remembered her embarrassment.

"Well you never know, I mean…" Zac said hoping to relieve the tension and cupped the right side of his chest in his hand. She giggled and slapped his arm.

"You're such an idiot Zac," she said laughing and he stuck his tongue out at her.

"Real immature."

"You know it."

They both separated their clothes sitting in silence and stealing secret glances at each other. After getting to the bottom of her basket, Vanessa realized she had forgot something.

"Zac, could you put my whites into the washing machine and put them on the normal cycle, I forgot to get this shirt I need washed back in my room."

He looked up from the clothes he was sorting and nodded.

"No problem."

She smiled at walked out of the laundry room. When she was out of sight Zac started to panic. He didn't know what a normal cycle was; he didn't know how much laundry detergent to put. What was he going to do?

_Chill Zac, just chill _he told himself and put the clothes into the washing machine. He picked up the Tide powder detergent and scooped up a bunch, pouring it on top of the clothes. After turning the dial to Normal he pressed start and could hear the machine filling with water.

"Everything okay?" he heard Vanessa's voice ask from behind him.

"Yeah, it started. Find your shirt?"

"Yup."

She took the green shirt she had been holding and tossed it into her basket of mediums.

"Looks like you're a fast learner," she said pointing to his sorted clothes.

"Well I've got a pretty good teacher," he replied and she smiled.

The washing machine continued to fill as they sat in silence.

Zac looked at Vanessa who was now playing with the hem of her tank top. Her hair was messy and she had no makeup on but she didn't seem to care. She looked comfortable and Zac didn't want her any other way.

"So what do you think we should do for the rest of the week until all the others get back?" she asked.

"Not that we have to do anything I just assumed you'd want to do something other than…"

"Bubbles."

"What?"

"Bubbles."

"You want to do bubbles?"

"Bubbbbbles."

"Zac are you okay because I have no idea what you're…"

"BUBBLES!"

Zac's tone had gotten high now and he was pointing behind her. She turned around to find a mess of bubbles pouring out of the top of the washing machine.

"Oh my god!!!!"

She opened the top and more spat into her face.

"ZAC, HOW MUCH DETERGENT DID YOU PUT!?" she said trying to yell over the sound of the machine.

"I DON'T KNOW!"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW??"

"I DON'T KNOW!!"

The floor was full of bubbles now and Vanessa was trying every button to stop the machine.

"ZAC CLOSE THE DOOR SO THE BUBBLES DON'T GO FLYING OUT!!" she said.

Zac leaped to the door and fell into the sea of bubbles. All she saw was his hand come out and pull the knob to shut the door.

"ZAC WHERE ARE YOU??"

His hand waved at her and she started to laugh.

"HOLD ON I'M TRYING TO SHUT THIS THING OFF!"

After pressing a couple of more buttons she managed to slow down the wash cycle and turn off the machine. Once it had stopped she turned around to where Zac's hand had been. All she could see were bubbles.

"Zac??"

She saw him sitting up on the other side of the room by the door. He had bubbles all over his clothes and in his hair.

"Over here."

She laughed as she made her way over and stood in front of him.

"I think you put too much powder." She said and held out her hand to help him up. He took it and instead of letting her help him up, Zac pulled Vanessa down with him and she started laughing hysterically.

"What was that for bubble boy?"

She looked at him, all the bubbles in his hair and all over his body.

"Now we match."

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**R&R!!**


	7. Things Could Change In A Second

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 6 – Hold On Tight, Things Could Change In A Second

Zac smiled as he stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He kept replaying in his head what had happened in the laundry room with Vanessa and now, even a day later, it was still amusing. The cast would be coming back in two days now and Zac started wishing he would have come back earlier to have more time with Vanessa. It felt so natural just being with her and not having people around them forcing them to be more than they were.

Today they were going to go for a picnic lunch outside and went their separate ways to get ready about an hour ago. Both of them promised never to close the connecting door just in case they needed each other. Zac threw on his shirt and pants and walked over.

"Nessa, I'm coming in." he said and walked into the room with his eyes closed.

"Okay my eyes are closed, stop me if I shouldn't open them."

Still no answer. He opened his eyes to reveal the empty room and the soft sound of the shower running on the other side of the bathroom door. But there was another sound coming from the bathroom, a sound he recognized instantaneously because it was his own voice.

_Once in a lifetime means there's no second chance_

_So I believe that you and me should grab it while we can_

And then it was her turn and he heard her, singing in the shower along with him. It was her voice, no mixes, no studio edits, just her and she was beautiful.

_Make it last forever_

_And never give it back_

He sang with his own voice outside the door.

_It's our turn and I'm loving where we're at_

Then their voices mingled together.

_Because this moment's really all we have_

_Everyday of our lives_

_Wanna find you there wanna hold on tight_

_Gonna run while we're young_

_And keep the faith_

_Everyday from right now_

_Gonna use our voices and scream out loud_

_Take my hand together we will celebrate_

_Celebrate_

_Everyday…_

Zac listened to Vanessa singing and giggling from in the shower. Of all the songs to listen to, she listened to theirs and it made him happy. He decided to sit on the couch and watch TV quietly until she was done. Sure enough, 15 minutes later, he could hear the shower stop and the music lower.

"Nessaaaaaaaaa!"

Vanessa heard his voice and she knew he was warning her that he was in the room. She smiled, knowing he heard her singing Everyday.

"Zaaaaaaaaaac!"

"I'm watching your TV."

"Okay!" she giggled and walked out of the bathroom in a fluffy pink robe drying her hair with a towel. She picked out some clothes from in her drawer and retreated to the bathroom again, coming back out after a quick change.

"What's on? Ooh! Was that Laguna?"

She sat beside him as he flipped through the channels.

"No."

"Yes it was, go back!!"

Vanessa leaned over to grab the remote from his hand but he pulled it away to where she couldn't reach it. She reached further but he only looked at her and laughed when she couldn't grasp the remote from his hand. Vanessa started to laugh as well as she reached further, her hand naturally placing itself on his chest.

"Zaaaaaaaaaac!"

"Nesssssssss!"

Zac watched Vanessa laugh happily even though she could not retrieve the remote from his hands. He knew she was just happy to be there with him, and likewise he was happy to be there with her. When she pulled away he found himself wishing he had given the remote to her, just to keep her close.

"Okay, okay, don't give it to me. Let's just go for our lunch." She said, still smiling at him.

Zac turned off the TV and followed her out of the room and onto the big balcony where a blanket and basket laid on the floor. They sat down and Vanessa pulled out cups, juice, and sandwiches from the basket.

"I feel like Troy right now," Zac said.

"You look a lot like him," Vanessa teased.

He shuffled closer to her.

"That's funny, you look a lot like his pretty girlfriend."

"Do I now?"

"Yeah, it's actually scary how much you resemble her."

"Well as long as she's pretty, I don't mind."

As if on cue, they both looked at each other and Vanessa could see Zac's expression had turned from playful and teasing to soft and serious.

"She's gorgeous."

The words came out in a whisper because they were so close to each other. Vanessa could smell the cologne he used and the electric blue in his eyes drew her in.

Zac could feel Vanessa shiver when his hand brushed up to touch her arm and she dropped her eyes.

_Why did I do that? _he asked himself.

_Why did I do that? _she asked herself.

She was still looking at the floor as he spoke. "So umm…everyone gets back soon huh?"

"Yeah, then it's back to work."

"It's too bad, I was enjoying the relaxation."

"Zac?" her voice was small and innocent.

"Yeah?"

This was the perfect moment for Vanessa to tell Zac her feelings and she knew it. Being outside, sun shining, picnic lunch, and Zac sitting there hanging onto her every word. She wanted to say it, she really did, and even more she wanted to just wrap him in a hug but she knew she couldn't. Instead, she kept to herself and took the safe route.

"I'm cold, can we go inside?"

But she wasn't cold, how could she be under such a hot sun? He gave her a warm smile and nodded, cleaning up their lunch.

After stepping inside and taking a seat on the couch, Vanessa watched Zac begin to wash their cups in the sink.

"Who knew you were a cleaner?" she teased and he stuck his tongue out at her.

Watching him at the sink, Vanessa started to think about them as Troy and Gabriella. How could they act on set as the perfect couple and not actually be a couple? Troy and Gabriella were a model for what she wanted to have with Zac, but she wanted it to be their own. She closed her eyes and imagined being with Zac, holding his hand without question, and him telling her he loves her. Imagining his blue eyes looking at her as if they were going straight through her body was all she needed to know he meant it. Those eyes, his perfect eyes. All the thoughts swirling around in her head kept Vanessa from realizing Zac was now done the dishes and was making his way over to sit with her on the couch.

He plopped himself down, mumbling that he hated washing dishes but it was only when his hand made a soft touch her leg that she snapped out of her thoughts.

"Hey V, you okay?"

"Yeah, of course, fine." She looked a little disoriented, keeping her eyes straight ahead, and he didn't look convinced.

"You sure?"

"Mmhmm."

"...Okay."

She was trying not to look at him because she knew if she did her eyes would look straight into his. Vanessa didn't want to be vulnerable to Zac, she already knew he wasn't interested.

"Ness…"

"Mmm…"

His hand slid over to hers, which was sitting on her lap and he grabbed it protectively, moving closer to her.

"Why won't you look at me?"

Vanessa didn't make a sound but he sat there waiting for an answer. She wanted to tell him it was too hard to look at him knowing they were just friends but she didn't, it would have made it harder knowing he didn't feel the same, so she gave in, finally turning her head and looking up at him beside her. His eyes looked worried, something she had never seen before when he looked at her and his hand came up to cup her face and brush her cheek with his thumb.

"Zac…" It was the second time today he heard her speak his name so softly.

"Ga—Vanessa…"

Her eyes widened and she pulled his hand off her face.

_Oh shit Zac, why did you do that??_ He asked himself. If there was any hope of getting closer to Vanessa he just blew it by almost calling her Gabriella.

"I think you should go Zac." She said. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon."

Zac nodded silently and got up off the couch, retreating back to his room and closing the connecting door behind him. He figured she wanted some time alone and he was right. As soon as she heard the door fully close, tears ran down Vanessa's cheeks. Everything was going so well and he had to ruin it by pretty much forgetting her name.

Why did he do that? Why did always make her think they could be more than friends and then just drop her down like that? Vanessa tucked herself into her bed and cried herself into a nap, wishing she could just sleep through the rest of filming.

---

**TWO DAYS LATER**

---

It was as if nothing had happened, everyone was back and Zac and Vanessa hadn't talked in two days. Ever since the day they had their picnic, Vanessa had been so hurt when thinking of Zac, she didn't want to even bother starting a conversation. Zac on the other hand didn't want to hurt her more, so he didn't bother either. No one had really noticed they were trying to keep away from each other because they didn't make it noticeable in front of them in rehearsals. Kenny had kept this as a day for them to refresh their memory before filming started up again the next day.

The entire cast gathered in the rehearsal space and went over each dance to make sure everyone got it right. Zac and Vanessa danced in partners as if nothing had changed. Vanessa liked getting the chance to be close to Zac even though she was still upset for what happened. Every time Zac pulled Vanessa into him with a dance move, he wanted to tell her sorry for what he did but he knew it wouldn't be right, not in front of everyone.

Once the rehearsal was done, everyone went their separate ways back to their rooms. Before Vanessa and Zac had a chance to leave, Kenny called out to them.

"Zac, Vanessa, I need you to stay for me, I want to work on a scene with you guys."

They turned back and walked to Kenny who looked excited about the scene.

"Alrighttt," Kenny said walking towards them. "So now that everyone's gone let's take some time and work on the scene for tomorrow."

Both Zac and Vanessa looked confused.

"Uh…Kenny you still haven't told us which scene you're talking about." Zac said.

"Exactly, because we just wrote it."

"You added in another scene?" Vanessa asked.

"Yep, I talked to everyone at Disney and the writers and I came together and we agreed that adding in another scene would be important for Troy and Gabriella." Kenny explained.

"Okay so what are we rehearsing?"

"Troy and Gabriella's first kiss."

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**R&R!!**


	8. The Kiss

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 7 – The Kiss

"WHAT?!" they both said together and Kenny nodded, smiling a little.

"That's why I've got you guys here, you need to practice your kissing."

Zac and Vanessa looked at each other and quickly looked away.

"I don't know if that's going to work out Kenny," Zac said.

"It has to, it's part of the movie. Now, I don't know what happened to you guys and why that spark isn't there anymore but right now you don't have to be yourselves, you have to be Troy and Gabriella, think you can do that?"

Both Zac and Vanessa nodded silently.

"Good, now here's the script for the scene," he handed one to either of them, "and I'm expecting magic at the set tomorrow, okay?"

Vanessa smiled at Kenny.

"You got it boss," she said.

Kenny smiled and nodded before leaving them alone in the rehearsal gym.

Vanessa had turned away from Zac, leaving a space between them. He was trying to figure out how to start this; he knew she wouldn't do it. He didn't know why he called her Gabriella; maybe it was because that was who he wanted her to be. But at the same time, he knew it wasn't fair to ask Vanessa to be someone she wasn't, it looked selfish on his part, as if he didn't like her as herself.

"Let's just get this over with Zac," she said turning around.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this now?"

"Well we have no choice, plus we both know I don't have a problem with being Gabriella instead of myself."

Ouch, that hurt Zac thought.

"Vanessa…"

"No Zac, don't. You really hurt my feelings the other day. I'm me and although I might act it well, I'm not Gabriella."

"I know, and I love that about you but there's times…times when we get to be so close that it's almost like we're on set…like we're playing the part."

Vanessa looked at her feet.

"Well I wasn't." she said.

"I know, and I'm sorry."

Silence. Zac was waiting for an answer that would never come.

"Like I said, let's just get this over with." She said.

Zac and Vanessa cracked open their scripts and read over the lines, after all the times they tried to kiss in the movie, Troy and Gabriella couldn't have asked for a more romantic and passionate kiss than the one that had been written for them.

They practiced a bunch of times, each time skipping over the kiss like it wasn't there. After a while of rehearsing without the kiss, neither mentioned it and they decided to go back up to their separate rooms for the night.

"See you on set tomorrow then?" Zac asked her as they approached their doors.

"Yeah, see you on set."

It hurt Zac how professional Vanessa sounded but he knew that it was going to have to be that way until she forgave him, if she ever did. He felt like he let her down, like he could never do something right with her. He was worried for tomorrow, that the scene would be so terrible because of their fight and because they never practiced their kiss.

Vanessa thought about what Zac said, about them playing a part. It made her even more disappointed to hear that coming from him because she was never playing a part with them off set. She wanted the closeness that Troy and Gabriella had without feeling awkward and now, things were ruined. They weren't going to have a head-over-heels-fall-deeply-in-love kiss tomorrow and nothing was ever going to happen between them. It was something Vanessa just had to accept.

**THE NEXT DAY**

Zac was in and out of hair and makeup long before she got there. It was always like this, he would wait for her to finish and they would walk to set together but this morning was different, Zac had arrived extremely early to go over his lines and make sure he was getting everything right. He wanted this to be a good scene, even if the kiss wasn't good.

Vanessa got to the hair and makeup trailer and was happy to find that Zac wasn't waiting for her with his usual morning coffee but instead Ashley sat in the chair, a smile plastered on her face.

"Today's the day!" she said happily.

"What day?"

"THE day!"

"I don't know what you're talking about Ash."

Ashley let out a sigh as Vanessa sat in the seat beside her.

"I heard about the kissing scene."

Oh great…

"Yeah so?"

"So you finally get to kiss Zac!!"

Vanessa chuckled at her friend's excitement

"Ash, I wouldn't think anything of it okay? It's just for the movie."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I've figured out that Zac doesn't want to be more than friends with me, so this is purely a professional kiss."

Ashley looked at her in silence and understood her friend's pain.

"Is he at least a good kisser? Can you tell me that?"

"I haven't kissed him yet."

"But I thought you guys rehearsed last night."

Vanessa looked at Ashley.

"How do you find out these things??"

"Doesn't matter, just tell me!"

"We didn't rehearse the kiss, we just rehearsed the scene."

Ashley went wide-eyed.

"You're going to shoot the scene today and you haven't practiced???"

"Big deal, Troy and Gabriella have the chemistry, they'll make it work."

"Yeah but will Vanessa and Zac make it work?"

He was on set, waiting for her. Someone had come by saying they saw her in hair and makeup but that was 10 minutes ago, what was taking her so long? He wanted to get this over-with because he didn't want to see her be disappointed everytime she looked at him.

She walked towards him from behind wearing a colourful short dress over some leggings and her hair curled as Gabriella's hair always was. Closing her eyes, Vanessa took a deep breath to prepare herself and stopped behind him, tapping him on the shoulder.

He twirled around to look down at her, she was half smiling and he could tell she was a bit nervous.

"Ready?" she asked.

He nodded silently and they proceeded onto the set.

"Zac, Vanessa… I need you guys to really feel this scene okay? It's really important."

Both nodded, telling Kenny they understood.

(again, this is MY scene…I thought of it, I wrote it and its MINE! This time I'm going to be writing it as Vanessa and Zac instead of Troy and Gabriella just so you can see their own personal thoughts of the scene as it goes along)

They stood at their mark and waited for the cue.

"and ACTION!"

Zac grabbed her hand and they stumbled in the door of what was supposed to be Troy's house, laughing.

"Oh man…" Zac said between laughs.

"Running away from…everyone was…harder…than I thought it would be!" Vanessa said out of breath.

"But look on the bright side, now we get the whole house to ourselves! MOM? DAD? See…no one here."

"Hmm…what to do what to do."

She stuck her tongue out at him playfully and he grabbed her hand again.

"Let's go in here."

He led her into the office that his mom usually used for work. Releasing her hand, he went behind the desk and sat down, grabbing a few random papers on the desk.

"Please sit down Miss Montez." He said putting on a slightly deeper voice than his own.

"Why thank you Dr. Bolton." She smiled and sat in the chair in front of the desk.

"So tell me your troubles."

"Well Dr Bolton, I think I have a stalker."

"Go on…"

"His name is Troy and he follows me everywhere, I just don't know what to do!"

Zac gasped at her comment and stood up out of his chair.

"I don't appreciate such talk Miss Montez!"

She giggled and ran out of the room causing him to chase her.

"You better watch it, I don't think this Troy guy likes when you talk bad about him!"

He grabbed her and picked her up, walking to the couch and throwing her on it as she laughed hysterically.

"That's what you get," he said

Zac reached his hand out to help her up but instead she pulled him down to sit beside her body as it lied on the couch. Putting one arm on either side of her, he looked into her eyes. Vanessa could see that look, the one he always gave her, the one Troy always gave Gabriella, and once again his eyes drew her in.

"Gabrie—"

She put a finger to his mouth to silence him.

"Shhh…I know."

Zac leaned down slowly and his lips met her forehead. She closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of Zac's affection towards her, even if it was just in the scene.

When he broke away from her forehead he looked deep into her eyes and a feeling that Vanessa never felt before rushed through her. She gently pulled his face down to her until their lips met, soft and sweet, like a first kiss should be. They let their foreheads remain touching before Zac moved in for another kiss, more full than the last and she let his lips linger on hers because it felt right.

Pulling away for the last time, Zac looked at her once more and the words came out.

"I love you Gabriella."

"I love you too Troy."

She just wished they hadn't been in the script.

"CUT! That was great guys!!"

Vanessa quickly dropped her hands from in his hair and he stood up, offering a hand to help her up. She took it and stood beside him.

"Good job," he said to her.

"Yeah…same to you."

"Guys that rehearsal time did you good," Kenny said to them and both smiled.

"Thanks Kenny."

Vanessa looked at Zac and suddenly wasn't so mad at him anymore. Right there on set they had shared something only Troy and Gabriella could understand. It was special.

Back at the hotel that night, Vanessa paced back and forth in her room trying to decide whether to talk to Zac. Every so often, she put a finger to her lips and remembered the kiss they shared in the scene that afternoon. How could she have thought it would be bad? Zac is only the cutest guy on the face of the planet, its impossible that he would be a bad kisser. Well she definitely knew now that he wasn't bad…

Vanessa walked over to the connecting door and put a hand on it, stretching out her fingers. Her feelings for Zac were only more resurfaced with that kiss and she had completely forgotten about ever being mad at him. Standing at the door, thinking again about the kiss, she felt a soft knock and became worried that she might have tapped the door by accident. When she heard the tap again she realized it was coming from the other side.

Slowly unlocking the door, Vanessa pulled it open gently to reveal Zac standing in the doorway looking so incredibly tired. He looked at her in her pajamas, thinking she was about the cutest thing he had ever seen but she looked worried about something.

"You okay??" she asked concerned.

"Yeah, just couldn't sleep that's all…can I come in?"

"Sure."

She motioned for him to come into the room and he did, bringing a bag with him.

"What's that?"

"Supplies."

He poured the contents of the bag onto the table to reveal every conceivable candy that was her favourite, 2 movies and some kool aid.

"For me?"

"Well I was kinda hoping we could share it."

Vanessa looked at him, his eyes had softened and she could tell this was his apology for everything that had happened between them. No words came out of her mouth, she didn't know what to say.

"Come on Ness…it's been hell not being able to talk to you for the past couple of days."

A small smile spread across her face and she nodded at him slowly while receiving a smile from him in return.

"Come here," he said and pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her waist as hers took their usual place around his neck. He was holding her tighter than she was used to but she didn't care. After everything that had happened earlier in the day, things felt different between them, fresh and new. There was hope for a new beginning and Vanessa wanted to make sure everything went right this time.

"Alright so which movie first?"

"Well, 13 Going on 30 is a cute movie but so is Sweet Home Alabama. Why'd you pick chick flicks anyway?"

"Because last time we watched X-Men remember, I promised this time we would watch something you like."

They set up their candy on the bed and lied down beside each other on their stomachs to watch the movie. It was nice having things with Zac back to normal and although she did want to talk to him about this kiss, the better part of her knew it was better if it wasn't mentioned. She didn't want to ruin anything good they had going while it was just getting started.

In the middle of the movie Zac looked over at Vanessa who had fallen asleep. Cleaning up their candy and pulling a blanket over her, Zac was about to turn off the TV and go back to his room when he heard her small voice,

"Zac…stay please?"

She tapped a small space beside her and he couldn't refuse, walking over and taking off his shirt to reveal a white undershirt underneath to match his black and white striped pj pants. He crawled into the bed next to her and touched his forehead to her's.

"Vanessa…"

"Hmm?..."

"Did you feel what I felt today?"

He was wide awake but he knew she wasn't.

"Shh, go to sleep Zac…" her voice was trailing off as she leaned her body into his chest and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and drifting off to sleep.

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**R&R!!**


	9. The Day Ends How It Started

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANY of the High School Musical characters. I only own Kristen and Scott.**

Now…On with the story!!!

Chapter 8 – The Day Ends How It Started

It was morning and Zac woke up to find he was just how he remembered falling asleep the night before. Vanessa had buried her head in his chest as his chin rested on the top of her head. Looking down at her, he sighed with happiness. He just wanted to hold her like this for the rest of the day but he knew he couldn't. Zac shook her lightly to wake her up and she did, slowly fluttering her eyes open.

"Morning," he said letting go of her.

"Morning," she yawned and looked around. Zac had propped himself on his side resting on his shoulder as she lied almost underneath him.

"What?" she giggled and his hand reached down to move a curl from her face.

"You have no idea how happy you make me Vanessa…" his voice came as a whisper as he leaned down and planted a kiss on her lips.

"Mm…you have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that."

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

She pulled him down to meet her lips again, and this time he lowered himself beside her and slipped his arms around her waist. She was giggling into the kiss which made him smile and begin to tickle her lightly.

"Zaaaac…" she giggled.

"Hmm?"

"Stopppp…"

"Nope."

"Zaaaaac stopppppp…"

His lips moved down to her neck and he trailed kisses lightly along it, sending her into a laughing fit.

"Zaccccccccc!!!"

He laughed at her and got up and out of the bed.

"Okay, okay I'll stop, I should go get ready anyway."

"Come back when you're done?"

He smiled at her and murmured a soft "mmhmm" as he leaned over and kissed her.

"I'll be here."

He left through the connecting door to get changed and Vanessa lied on the bed smiling until she heard a knock on the door.

"Vanessaaaa!" she heard a voice call

"Oh come on Nessa, wake up!!"

Vanessa recognized that voice, it was Stella.

"Stella?"

"VANESSA!!!!"

She woke up to find her sister shaking her, and jumping on her bed. Looking around, she realized she was in her bedroom in LA and that everything had been a dream. Plopping back down on her pillow, Vanessa groaned.

"You woke me up from a nice dream Stell…" she said.

"Sorry, but it's getting late and mom told me to wake you."

Filming had wrapped days ago and everyone had headed home for a couple of days before press events for the movie. Vanessa could remember leaving Zac, he had kissed her on the cheek and told her they would see each other soon.

"I'm going downstairs, you better be up in 5 minutes!" Stella ordered her and left the room skipping down the stairs.

Vanessa let out a sigh. The dream had felt so real and so right, it was too bad that it was only a dream.

Vanessa looked over to her clock, which read 10:30am. Beside the clock was her phone, its lights were blinking to signify a message.

"You have 2 new messages" the automated voice said.

_Hudgenssssss!! It's Ashley, I just wanted to say hey and I'm missing you, it's weird not being on set with everyone anymore. My birthday party is extremely soon and you better be there!! Anywayssss, call me and we can get together or something to go shopping for party dresses! LOVE YA!_

Vanessa smiled at her friend's message, it really was weird not being on set anymore.

_Hey Ness!_

It was him, calling as if he knew she was thinking about him.

_I just got into LA so give me a call if you want to do something and I'll clear my oh so busy schedule for you. I think we're going to be in need of a night with lots of candy really soon, all this press stuff might kill us. Call me when you get the chance!_

Vanessa smiled as she got ready and headed downstairs, cell phone in hand. After fixing herself a bowl of cheerios she sat down cross legged on a chair and picked up her phone to dial Zac's number. He was number 4 on her speed dial, after both her parents' cell phones.

"NESSAAAAAA!!!"

Before the phone had started to dial, Vanessa could see her sister running at her in a jog. Stella hugged her so tight that it made Vanessa laugh, she had really missed her sister.

"Hey Stel."

Stella's face looked annoyed.

"Just because you're home doesn't mean you have to sleep all day!"

Vanessa talked to her sister for hours, laughing and getting caught up on what she had missed while she had been off filming. Stella eventually had to go to get to her friend's birthday party. After saying by to her sister, Vanessa picked up her phone again and held down 4.

The phone seemed to ring forever until she heard his voice pick up.

"Welcome to McDonalds how can I take your order?" he said to her amusement.

"Hi I'd like a Zac Efron please."

"Oh I'm sorry miss we seem to have run out of those."

"I have one on order, it's for Vanessa Hudgens."

"Well in that case, I'll get you one right away."

Vanessa giggled as she heard him rustle the phone and then come back on in a slightly deeper voice.

"Hey you."

"Hi yourself."

Zac was smiling so big it would have hurt anyone that was looking at him. The fact that she played along with his joke was great.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing, which I'm happy about. You called earlier?"

"And you got my message I'm guessing."

"That I did."

"Well since everyone else replied to come to the Hairspray premiere in LA next month I thought I would call because I haven't heard from you yet."

"Oh I totally forgot to tell you Zac, of course I'll be there!!"

"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow morning right?"

"At Good Morning America, yes you will."

"See you then."

Hanging up, Vanessa felt hopeful for the next day. It had never been like Zac to confirm press plans with her.

Zac sat in his apartment alone, glaring at his phone that had just hung up with Vanessa. He looked around at the many boxes surrounding him. What he really wanted to ask her was if she would come over and help him unpack but it hadn't come out the way he planned. He immediately thought about calling her back, knowing it would make him look extremely stupid but not really caring. Why couldn't things ever be easy?

_Ringgggg…ringgggggg…..ringggggg_

"Zac?"

"Hey…"

He was officially embarrassed.

"Something wrong?" she had a worried tone to her voice.

"No, no I just forgot to mention that I moved into my new apartment."

She had a smile on her face because she knew where the conversation was going but she still managed to get the words out.

"That's great Zac, congrats!"

"Thanks…I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come over and help me unpack a bit?"

"Well I'm really busy today…"

"Oh, sorry, I understand, I…"

She was giggling.

"Zac, I'm kidding, give me details and I'll be there in 10 minutes."

After hanging up with him Vanessa went upstairs to get changed. Thinking about it, she hadn't realized Zac's message meant they needed to hang out TODAY.

She went to her closet and picked out a pair of casual skinny jeans and a loose navy blue tank top. Grabbing her purse and the sunglasses she stole from Zac's room while they were filming, she slipped on a pair of flats and quickly told her parents she was leaving.

Having got her license not too long ago, Vanessa got in her car and programmed her GPS to the address Zac had given her. It took her to a nice looking building where she was stopped by a security guard at the door.

"Hi umm, I'm here to see Zac Efron?" she said meekly.

"Name?" He was big and mean looking.

"Umm…Vanessa Hudgens?"

"One second."

The security guard, who's name tag read BERNIE in big letters, picked up the walkie talkie he had attached to his belt and dialed a number. Vanessa heard Zac's voice answer.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Efron there is a Miss. Vanessa Hudgens here to see you."

"Thanks, send her up!"

He put down the walkie-talkie and opened the door for her.

"Go ahead." He said, his tone softening.

"Thanks," she smiled.

Walking to the elevator, she pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that read 5D on it. She must have looked at it a million times to make sure she remembered the number right.

The elevator took her to the floor and she walked down the wide hallway until she was faced with the door. She took a deep breath before knocking lightly and heard, "It's open!" from inside. She pushed the door open to reveal the apartment full with boxes. She was surprised to find that even though he had just moved in, it already looked and felt like he lived there. The walls were all painted a faint beige colour and all his stuff was neatly set up on tables and shelves.

"Hey!" she called out.

"Hey, in here!"

Following the sound of his voice, she proceeded into the apartment where she found him on a step ladder putting up curtains in the living room.

"Looking good Efron." She said looking up at him. Immediately he stopped his task and met her gaze, coming down the two steps of the ladder to be at her level.

"Gotta fend off the stalkers huh?" she teased and he shrugged with a smile on his face.

"What can I say, I like my privacy."

"I don't blame you there."

He smiled at her, "thanks for coming," he said.

"Anytime, what can I do to help?"

"Well, my mom and dad and Dylan have been here the last couple of days to set up the furniture so all these boxes are basically full of kitchen stuff and clothes to put in them. Nice sunglasses by the way." He said looking up and the glasses that were now on her head.

"Aw thanks, they're stolen."

"I would never have guessed."

His hand reached out to snatch back his property but she quickly moved out of the way.

"Officially going to unpack the kitchen boxes!" she said and bolted out of the room, stuffing the glasses in her purse before he had a chance to say otherwise. She watched him hang curtains from the breakfast nook window while unwrapping each glass and putting it in the cupboard that she could see his mother had neatly marked "dinner glasses" with tape. The kitchen was big enough to fit a round table with 4 chairs as well as all his other appliances. Vanessa wondered if Zac was happy living by himself. Sure, it was nice to be your own boss but she was sure he missed having people home to wake up to.

After finishing the last box of kitchen stuff, Vanessa made her way over to the bedroom where she saw Zac enter a couple of minutes before. He was just finishing hanging the last curtain when he felt her presence in the doorway and turned around to look. She was leaning against the doorframe looking around.

"Nice room," she said.

The walls were grey as was the desk at the far right and the headboard against the back wall. The queen size bed had a blue, grey and white striped comforter with pillows to match and his teddy bear was sitting in the middle of them. She glanced at the flat screen TV across from his bed and his laptop resting on the desk beside some speakers where she could hear Soul Meets Body by Death Cab For Cutie faintly playing.

"Yeah my mom has good taste," he admitted. "Finished in the kitchen?"

"All done!"

"Thanks again for coming, Ness."

"Anytime."

Folding up the step ladder, he smoothly fit it in the hallway closet and looked back at her.

"Now for the clothes."

She sat on the bed as he brought the boxes of clothes into his room. He examined every piece, making sure he absolutely wanted to keep it before handing it to her to fold and put in the drawers that his mother had labeled like the kitchen cupboards. A shiver ran down her spine and goose bumps formed on her arms.

"Cold?" he asked her.

"A little."

Zac knew he had a sweater in one of the boxes but he wasn't going to search for it now. Instead he grabbed his favourite Diesel sweater hanging from the chair at his desk and gave it to her.

"Here, warm up."

"Thanks…" she blushed and put it on, zipping it up all the way. He looked at her and smiled at how big it looked on her and he brought himself closer to her, reaching back to put the hood on her head. She giggled because it covered all of her face when she tried to look up at him. His hands gently moved the hood to look at her.

"Thanks again for helping me," he said.

"No problem."

His stare was too intense for her but she couldn't look away. She could feel him starting to lean into her and she didn't stop him, their bodies fitting together as if they were always meant to be that way. He smoothly took her face in his hands and brushed her lips with his. The feeling was almost unreal to her, there they were lips touched but barely together. She let him move in closer to her as he captured her lips more fully.

It was impossible for Zac to think of anything else, even what his next move would be. Right now he was just going with what was happening, taking it as slow as possible to enjoy every possible taste. Even after kissing Vanessa on set, nothing could have prepared Zac for this. It felt so new, yet so right, like they could do it everyday for the rest of their lives.

His hands were now comfortably resting on her waist and her hands on his chest as they continued to exchange tiny kisses between them, amazed at how natural it was.

As if on cue, they pulled their lips away and touched their foreheads together. Vanessa could feel her heartbeat mixed with his jumping out of his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done that."

She smiled at him affectionately and lightly kissed his nose.

"It was perfect," she breathed and a smiled of relief crept across his face.

"It really was."

_And I do believe it's true_

_That there are roads left in both of our shoes_

_But if the silence takes you_

_Then I hope it takes me too_

_So brown eyes I hold you near_

_Cause you're the only song I want to hear_

_A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere_

_Where soul meets body_

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**R&R!!**


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